Tesco and Soil Association Exchange can support your livestock business

Across the UK, beef and sheep farmers are running incredibly complex businesses. They face rising costs, volatile weather, tight margins, and growing demands from government and retailers. At Soil Association Exchange, many of us come from farming backgrounds. We understand what it takes to keep livestock healthy, land productive, and businesses afloat. Our role is to back you and help create a more resilient UK farming industry.

As more farmers look to register for the Tesco × Soil Association Exchange programme, some have raised understandable questions about how their data will be used, particularly around enteric emissions. We hope this blog provides clarity on why we are running this programme and how it can support you.

Your Data Belongs to You

At the heart of Exchange is a principle that will never change: your data belongs to you. It is only ever shared with third parties where you explicitly give permission. Tesco will only ever see the data in aggregate, not at an individual farm level. We’re accredited under the Farm Data Principles scheme to ensure fairness, transparency, and farmer control.

Why Data Can Help the Livestock Industry

Whatever system you run, from extensive grazing to more housed setups, UK livestock farmers already deliver huge benefits that deserve proper recognition. Permanent pasture stores carbon. Grazing supports biodiversity and protects landscapes. Livestock farming sustains rural communities and produces high-quality, nutrient-dense food. Farmers achieve exceptional productivity through careful breeding, nutrition, health planning, and attention to detail.

This story rarely makes the headlines. The conversation around livestock often focuses on one narrow metric. Good data can help change that. It allows the industry to tell the whole story—not just about emissions, but about soils, biodiversity, animal welfare, community value, and productivity—in a way that is fair, accurate, and grounded in what you do every day.

Building a Resilient Food System

This programme is also about building a more resilient food system at a time when resilience has never been more important. The last few years have shown how vulnerable global supply chains can be. We need UK farming businesses that are strong, profitable, and confident. At Exchange, we believe that sustainable farming is simply good business.

Sustainability leads to reducing input costs, improving grassland function, strengthening feed efficiency, building healthy soils, and reducing the risks posed by extreme weather. These are the foundations of a business that can be passed on to the next generation. Our team is here to support that transition in ways that respect the realities of each individual farm.

Creating New Opportunities

This work also unlocks new opportunities. Farm incomes have been under pressure for years. The wider supply chain needs to help create additional value. By building a trusted, unified dataset, we can reduce duplication and help farms access new revenue streams such as Exchange Market. We ensure that progress is recognised—not overlooked. Funding linked to environmental improvements is already benefiting many farms, and those opportunities grow when farms have strong evidence behind them.

The right data also strengthens the industry’s voice. Too often, policy debates are shaped by assumptions rather than reality. With robust data, we can clearly demonstrate the strengths of the farming industry, the efficiency and innovation, the biodiversity value, the welfare outcomes farmers work hard to achieve, and the economic importance of farming to rural areas.

Supporting Farmers for the Future

Above all, we want farmers to know that Exchange is here to create a resilient farming industry. Our job is to make environmental measurement simple and meaningful. We provide advice that respects the commercial pressures you face. We help unlock new funding and build long-term trust between farmers and retailers.

We believe deeply in the role and importance of UK livestock farming. We want to help ensure it remains strong, sustainable, and profitable for the future.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the challenges faced by beef and sheep farmers in the UK are significant. However, with the right support and data, there are opportunities for growth and resilience. By participating in the Tesco × Soil Association Exchange programme, farmers can take control of their data and leverage it for better outcomes. Together, we can build a sustainable future for UK farming.

Remember, your data belongs to you. Let’s work together to create a thriving agricultural landscape that benefits everyone involved.